Your first weeks in England: NIN, GP, bank and council tax in the right order
England has no population register — there is no counter where you "just register". Instead you arrange four separate things, and the order saves weeks: you may work before your National Insurance Number arrives, and the GP asks for no proof of address.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
In your first weeks in England you arrange four separate things, each with its own body. Anyone coming from the Netherlands automatically looks for the municipal counter after landing, but in England it doesn't exist. There is no registration as a resident.
These are the four:
- your share code, the proof of your immigration status;
- your National Insurance Number, your number for work and tax;
- your GP, the family doctor;
- your council tax, the local council's tax.
The order saves weeks. You may work before your National Insurance Number arrives, and the GP registers you free of charge and without proof of address.
What is your share code for?
Your immigration status is an eVisa, a digital proof of status in your UKVI account (your account with the UK immigration service). Everything that asks for proof runs through a share code you generate there:
- Your employer uses it to check your right to work. That is compulsory: skipping it risks a fine of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
- Your landlord uses it to check your right to rent.
A code is valid for ninety days and can be reused without limit. Simply make a new one when it expires. You can set this up from the Netherlands already.
Do you have to wait for your National Insurance Number?
No. The NIN is your citizen service number for work and tax. You can only apply once you are in the UK and have the right to work. After that it can take up to four weeks.
GOV.UK says it itself: you may start work before the NIN arrives, as long as you can prove your right to work. You do that with your share code.
Apply only through GOV.UK. Commercial sites charge money for an application you do yourself in a quarter of an hour.
| Item | Rule or amount |
|---|---|
| Share code | valid 90 days, reusable without limit |
| Employer fine for a missing check | up to £60,000 per worker |
| National Insurance Number | apply only in the UK; up to 4 weeks |
| Working before the NIN arrives | allowed, with proof of your right to work |
| Registering with a GP | free; no ID, proof of address or status needed |
| NHS prescription in England | £9.90 per item |
| Prepayment certificate 12 months | £114.50, unlimited prescriptions |
| Basic bank account | fee-free, no overdraft, at 9 designated banks |
| Council tax | from age 18; full bill assumes 2 adults |
Do you need papers for the GP?
No, and this is England's friendliest counter. Everyone in England can register with a GP surgery (a family doctor's practice) for free, usually online. The NHS says explicitly that you do not need to show ID, proof of address or immigration status. You don't need an NHS number yet either. Do this in your first week, not only when something is wrong.
GP and hospital are covered: your Immigration Health Surcharge (a healthcare fee) was paid with the visa. Prescriptions in England cost £9.90 per item. Anyone who uses medicines regularly saves with a prepayment certificate, a prescription season ticket (£114.50 for twelve months, unlimited prescriptions).
Do you get a bank account without proof of address?
For an ordinary account banks ask for identity and proof of your British address. That is awkward if you don't have a permanent home yet.
Good to know: nine banks designated by the Treasury (including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander and Nationwide) are legally required to offer a basic bank account, a simple no-frills account. It is fee-free for standard operations and without an overdraft, for anyone legally resident in the UK who does not yet have an account. That puts you in a stronger position than begging for an exception.
When do you pay council tax?
As soon as you have a home, you report to the council, the local authority, for council tax. That is the municipal tax per dwelling, divided into bands you can look up per address on GOV.UK.
You usually pay it from age 18. The full bill assumes at least two adults in the home. If you live alone, apply for the single-occupant discount. Discounts in England never happen by themselves.
What do you not have to do?
You don't have to "register as a resident" anywhere, and no letter will come to remind you. It gets familiar by itself. What does remain: for the Dutch elections you stay a voter, if you register once as a voter abroad with the municipality of The Hague.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to England.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- GOV.UK — apply for a National Insurance number — gov.uk
- NHS — how to register with a GP surgery — nhs.uk
- GOV.UK — view and prove your immigration status (share codes) — gov.uk
- GOV.UK — Council Tax, who has to pay — gov.uk
- HM Treasury — basic bank accounts — gov.uk
- NHS — the prescription charge of £9.90 per item — nhs.uk
- GOV.UK — fine of up to £60,000 per illegal worker for missing checks — gov.uk
- Kiesraad — voting from abroad (registration is one-off) — kiesraad.nl
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